Were you hoping for a fresh Survivor episode?Â As seems to be Thanksgiving tradition, we were served a helping of old footage with new scenes mixed in.Â The first several segments were filled with things we had seen in the past, but no worries Survivor: Samoa fans — most of the footage was new stuff to feast your eyes on.

Shambo & Jaison’s Threat

In the deeper look at the first portion of the competition, most of the new content featured evil Russell, Shambo and Erik.Â Yes, Erik.Â To kick things off, Russell weighed in on Mick’s bad leadership skills.Â “The camp is a piece of crap,” he said in a confessional.Â Then the producers naturally showed the moments in which he dumped out the fresh water on the first night.Â Still shocking to see.

At Galu, Laura’s frustration with Shambo was showcased.Â Her tribemates thought Shambo was a tough player to deal with because of her in-your-face style.Â That was showcased in her attempt to make the first fire with their flint as she bossed people around.Â But it wasn’t working — her efforts to spark a successful blaze were worthless.Â Dave jumped on board and worked to start the fire, and he was much better at the fire making than she was.Â The entire Galu camp watched in amazement.Â “I’m pretty much bulletproof, I think,” Dave said after making that fire.

At the physical basketball-like challenge much earlier this season, Jaison was angry that John had kneed him in the chest.Â After Galu took victory, Jaison sounded off by declaring he was upset with John’s actions.Â He vowed to come after John later on in the game.Â This moment seemed really out of place in the slew of new scenes.Â Is it a hint to a bigger feud about to emerge between John and Jaison?Â We will see.

Secrets, Storms & Escaping Chickens

One morning, Mick was questioning Russell about his life outside of the game.Â After prodding for a short while, Russell finally came clean to Mick.Â “I own an oil company in Houston,” Russell said.Â “Last year I made $1.7 million.”Â Mick then revealed his true profession as well.Â But Mick warned in a confessional that if it came down to the end of the game, he wouldn’t hesitate to use Russell’s wealth against him.

Erik was showcased quite a bit in this recap episode — especially on his mad hunt to re-capture the chicken Shambo had accidentally let escape.Â After Erik created a trap, Galu finally caught the runaway chicken. Everybody embraced in huge hugs after the capture, but evil wasn’t about to let that joy stay for long…

Russell wanted to create chaos, so as everybody slept that night he went to the chicken coop and opened the hatch so both of them could escape.Â We never saw the aftermath of that, though.

Moments later, as they all slept at camp Russell put on his Hidden Immunity Idol and walked around camp.Â Dave woke up and the pair started talking — but he didn’t even seem to notice Russell’s hidden Idol.Â Whoops.

While sitting on the beach, Shambo opened up to Laura about the devastating deaths of her brother and sister.Â But in a confessional, Shambo said that it was definitely not a heart-to-heart conversation.Â It was simply a private moment of homesickness that Laura invaded.Â Ouch.Â Shambo really doesn’t like Laura.Â Sheesh.

With only nine castaways, the finale looms closer when one player will be awarded the $1 million live from Los Angeles on Sunday, December 20.

RealityTVMagazine‘s Ryan Haidet will be there yet again to bring you the best red carpet coverage with exclusive interviews from your favorite Samoa contestants.

CLICK HERE to read Ryan Haidet’s report about attending a Survivor finale live in person.